USC conducts successful freshmen field day

The Upper St. Clair High School mentor program hosted its 14th annual freshman field day on Sept. 22 at the high school stadium.
Anna McElligott, Lauren Starr, Yoshna Venkataraman and Dakota Worstell, who serve as the Senior Leadership Team, spearheaded the event, which is designed to build and strengthen relationships among the ninth-graders.
Mentors were assigned to freshman homerooms and served as coaches and cheerleaders during the event.
“The purpose of field day is to help build relationships and connections with their homeroom through team-building activities,” McElligott said. “Not only do we want the freshmen to bond with their mentors, but we also want them to bond with each other as the class of 2026. The day consists of games that will encourage teamwork, communication, and many other crucial skills.”
The morning kicked off with breakfast in the nutrition center followed by a variety of competitive, team-building events, including tug-of-war, dizzy bat relay race, railroad relay, pipeline races, blind-folded dodgeball and others. A team of approximately 25 senior mentors coordinated activity stations.
The annual event is an opportunity to build friendships between and among freshmen and their junior mentors.
“When joining the high school, freshmen are overwhelmed with a lot of new people, some even from their own class. Field day gives the freshmen an opportunity to get to know people in their homeroom and their class in more manageable groups,” Worstell said. “Having a couple of years of experience in high school, the junior mentors are there to help the freshmen feel more comfortable and to bring them closer together.”
The event concluded with lunch in the stadium. The ninth-graders were then able to spend time at the school’s annual rush event. Rush, an activities fair hosted by student council, provides the 60-plus clubs with the opportunity to highlight their activities and recruit new members.
Students in grade 11 are eligible to apply to serve as mentors in order to assist freshmen with the transition from middle school to high school. Each freshmen homeroom is assigned three to four mentors who provide information, encouragement and support throughout the year. Each year approximately 60 juniors serve as mentors in the program.
“Field day is very impactful for our junior mentors as it is their first important activity that requires them to lead and guide their entire homeroom,” Venkataraman said. “The connection that is formed with their homeroom only strengthens.”
The mentoring program has a positive effect on the culture within the high school.
“The mentors are trusted to be some of the best leaders in the school, so strengthening their abilities positively impacts school culture by entrusting them with freshmen,” Venkataraman said. “The entire purpose is to build relationships, promote student success, and foster genuine concern – with all of these being checked off at field day.”
The four leadership team members work collaboratively with their faculty advisers: Maureen Chermak, learning support teacher; Mike Funfar, mathematics teacher; Amanda Haas, mathematics teacher; and Tom Marquis, school counselor.